SANTA CRUZ COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS INDEX SHEET

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1 SANTA CRUZ COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS INDEX SHEET Creation Date: 1 O/l 0/07 Source Code: PUBWK Agenda Date: 10/16/07 I NVENUM : Resolution( s) : Ordinance(s): Contract (s) : Continue Date(s): [I] 12/1/07 Index: --Letter of the Department of Public Works of October IO, Revised Road Bump Policy Item: 27. APPROVED revised Road Bump Policy in its entirety, and directed Public Works to return to the Board of Supervisors in December 2007 with an updated speed bump and speed table rate schedule in the Unified Fee Schedule; with an additional direction to include in the December 2007 report, information regarding the $600 road bump processing fee that has been instituted

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3 0143 County of Santa Cruz DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC WORKS THOMAS L. BOLICH DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC WORKS 701 OCEAN STREET, ROOM 410, SANTA CRUZ, CA (831) FAX (831) TDD (831) AGENDA: OCTOBER 16,2007 October 10,2007 SANTA CRUZ COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS 701 Ocean Street Santa Cruz, California SUBJECT: PROPOSED ROAD BUMP POLICY REVISIONS Members of the Board: On September 25,2007, your Board considered revisions to the Road Bump Policy, the Santa Cruz County Design Criteria, and the installation of speed tables on portions of 30th Avenue and 38th Avenue. Your Board approved the revisions to the Design Criteria but requested modifications to the proposed Road Bump Policy revisions. Those changes have been made in bold and are attached for your consideration. Your Board also approved the installation of speed tables on 30th Avenue as part of the current Redevelopment Agency (RDA) improvements project and on 38th Avenue, if and when the residents submit their share of the costs, with further clarification that Public Works work with the RDA on financing those speed tables. One of the key modifications to the Road Bump Policy involved changing the petition approval rate from 50 percent to 60 percent with the item placed on the Board consent agenda. However, as your Board directed, if the approval rate is less than 60 percent but more than 50 percent, staff would still bring the matter to your Board at a public hearing for consideration. There was also discussion about maintaining the existing 50 percent residents funding requirement for the installation of road bumps and speed tables or capping the residents share at a certain maximum amount. The policy now has been revised to reflect that the residents will pay a portion of the cost as identified in the current Unified Fee Schedule, which will be updated in December to include the residents costs for both road bumps and speed tables with the balance to be paid for by the RDA for all road bumps and speed tables in the RDA area. It was also requested that the Department of Public Works notify the Board of Supervisors once the specific Public Works-County Service Area No. 9-Highway Safety budget line item budget for road bump funds outside the RDA area has been expended for the fiscal year. 2 1

4 . SANTA CRUZ COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS Page Your Board further directed Public Works to use its traffic engineering judgement, in accordance with state and federal guidelines, in the utilization and placement of radar speed display signs and to pursue grant funds for the purchase and installation of such devices. It is therefore recommended that the Board of Supervisors take the following action: 1. Approve the attached revised Road Bump Policy in its entirety. 2. Direct Public Works to return to your Board in December 2007 with an updated road bumps and speed tables rate schedule in the next edition of the Unified Fee Schedule. Yours truly, r f'fiomas L. B m Director of Public Works TLB:JRS:mg Attachment ENDED FOR APPROVAL: RECOP CountyAdministrative Officer Copy to: California Highway Patrol County Counsel Redevelopment Agency Fire Agencies Public Works Department roadbump proposed m.wpd

5 0145 POLICY FOR PLACING PHYSICAL SPEED CONTROL DEVICES (ROAD BUMPS AND SPEED TABLES) ON COUNTY MAINTAINED ROADS AND WITHIN COUNTY SERVICE AREAS PURPOSE: To provide guidelines for approving the placement of road bumps and speed tables on County maintained roads and within County Service Areas to reduce the incidents of speeding vehicles and to reduce through traffic on residential streets and on streets adjacent to parks and schools. The Board of Supervisors retains the discretion to determine whether the placement of road bumps and speed tables on a particular street will be in the public interest. Road bumps and speed tables will not be allowed on streets designated as arterial streets. Speed tables will primarily be used on designated collector streets that exceed the thresholds for road bumps. USE AND CRITERIA FOR INSTALLATION OF PHYSICAL SPEED CONTROL DEVICES: The use of physical speed control devices, like any other engineering device, is subject to a number of factors and must be used with discretion. The unchecked use of these devices may be in conflict with the achievement of other local objectives such as traffic circulation, safety, and emergency response times. The indiscriminate use of physical speed control devices may create a problem that is worse than the problem it is intended to solve. The following guidelines are established for evaluating requests for the installation of road bumps and speed tables: Factors supporting the installation of road bumps on a street: 1. The street has either a high incident of speed related accidents or a high incident of citizen reported speeding problems on file with the Department of Public Works. 2. The street meets the prima facie requirements for a residential 25 mph speed limit. 3. The street is adjacent to a school or a park. Factors opposing the installation of road bumps on a street: 1. The street is designated a major collector street. 2. The street provides the sole access to a regional facility (Le., fire station, post office, transfer station). 3. The County Director of Public Works determines: a. The street grade is excessive. b. The grade or alignment does not provide sufficient stopping sight distance. c. The route is an important emergency vehicle access route. 4. The street has a daily traffic volume over 2,000 vehicles per day. 5. The road bumps would cause considerable diversion of traffic to other residential routes. Factors supporting the installation of speed tables on a street: 1. The street meets eligibility requirements for a road bump except the traffic volumes exceed 2000 vehicles per day. 2. The street is designated a major collector street. 3. The street is a primary emergency access route. 1

6 PETITION PROCESS: 0146 Requests for the installation of road bumps or speed tables shall be in writing and accompanied by the Road Bump processing fee as noted in the most current Unified Fee Schedule. Road bumps and speed tables are to be initiated through a petition process. Prior to circulating a petition to have road bumps or speed tables installed, the person(s) interested in filing a petition ( proponents ) shall hold a neighborhood meeting to discuss road bumps or speed tables to determine if a significant amount of interest exists in favor of the installation. The proponents shall request a representative of the Public Works Department to attend the meeting and shall distribute notices of the meeting to affected residents pursuant to an address list obtained from the Public Works Department. The list will include the residences within the primary and secondary affected areas of the proposed devices. Non-residential addresses will not be included in the process. The primary area is defined as those properties fronting along the section of road that has been determined to have a speeding problem and where the devices would therefore be installed. The secondary affected area is defined as those properties located off the primary road served by any side street, road, driveway, or alley way that intersects with the primary road and has principal access through the section of road proposed to have road bumps or speed tables installed. The petition shall be prepared by the Department of Public Works and then circulated for signatures by affected residents. The petition shall recite that signers are residents with authority to sign the petition; that the petition is for the purpose of determining whether there is sufficient support for the devices for the request to be submitted to the Board of Supervisors for its consideration; and, that signatures may not be withdrawn or rescinded so as to affect the adequacy of the petition for that purpose. The petition will include a map of the primary and secondary affected areas and the proposed number and location of the devices. Letters from the local fire agency serving the area and the local school districts (when said district provides bus service on the affected street) shall be submitted with the petition stating their position regarding proposed road bumps or speed tables on the affected streets. The petition will not be processed for submission to the Board of Supervisors unless the Director of Public Works determines that the petition is signed by a sufficient number of residents to indicate the following level of support: The petition is signed by more than 60% of the total points calculated by the Department of Public Works for the primary and secondary affected areas. Points are assigned as follows: two points to each parcel improved with a residence within the primary affected area and one point to each parcel improved with a residence within the secondary affected area. Any adult resident of a parcel within the affected areas shall be deemed authorized to sign the petition on behalf of that residential parcel. If the petition is signed by less than 60% but more than 50% of the total points calculated then the request shall be presented to the Board of Supervisors in a public hearing format for their consideration. ROAD BUMP REQUEST TO BE CONSIDERED BY THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS: If the Director of Public Works determines that the petition has sufficient signatures for further processing, the Director of Public Works will submit a resolution with a report (see attached fact sheet) evaluating the proposed request to the Board of Supervisors recommending authorization to place the devices per the signed petitions. The authority of the Board of Supervisors to approve or deny the proposed request shall be based on the public interest and will not be affected by any alleged deficiency in any signatures on the petition, or by any other lleged insufficiency of the petition. $374 m 3

7 0147 CONSTRUCTION OF DEVICES SUBJECT TO PAYMENT OF COSTS: Construction of road bumps and speed tables will commence only after adoption of a resolution by the Board of Supervisors approving them and after payment of the resident s share of the costs. A portion of the costs of the installation shall be borne by the residents requesting the devices on County maintained roads, while residents requesting such devices on County Service Area roads shall assume the full cost. The costs of road bumps and speed tables are monitored by the Department of Public Works and are subject to change by the Board of Supervisors. A set fee for road bumps and speed tables will be included in the Unified Fee Schedule and updated accordingly. Funding for department costs for road bumps and speed tables will be set by the Board of Supervisors each year as part of the budget approval process. The Department of Public Works will notify the Board of Supervisors once the funding for the year has been expended. DESIGN STANDARDS: The design of road bumps and speed tables for use on County maintained roads is based on guidelines established from studies conducted by the California Traffic Control Devices Committee. Exact locations along approved routes shall be determined by the Department of Public Works. The standards for construction of road bumps and speed tables shall be as shown in the County of Santa Cruz Design Criteria approved by the Board of Supervisors. REMOVAL: Road bumps and speed tables are subject to future modification or removal by the Board of Supervisors if deemed in the best interest of the County. Such action must be approved by resolution of the Board of Supervisors. Payment for removal shall be determined by the Board of Supervisors based on the reason for removal. Unless the Board of Supervisors finds there are immediate circumstances requiring the removal of road bumps or speed tables, no action to remove these devices may be initiated until at least one year has passed from the date they were initially installed. MAINTENANCE: Road bumps and speed tables on County maintained roads shall be maintained by the Public Works Department. Road bumps on County Service Area roads shall be maintained by the County Service Area. 3 2

8 0148 ROAD BUMP CRITERIA FACT SHEET FOR PURPOSE OF ROAD BUMP POLICY: To provide guidelines for approving the placement of road bumps on County maintained roads and within County Service Areas to reduce vehicle speeds and to reduce through traffic on local residential streets and on local streets adjacent to parks and elementary schools. The Board of Supervisors retains the discretion to determine whether the placement of road bumps on a particular road or street will be in the public interest. Factors supporting the installation of road bumps on a street (check all that apply): The street has either a high incidence of speed related accidents or a high incidence of citizen reported speeding problems on file with the Department of Public Works. Number of accidents and/or reported speeding incidents. - The street meets the prima facie requirements for a residential 25 mph speed limit. The street is adjacent to a school or a park. Factors opposing the installation of road bumps on a street (check all that apply): The street is designated a collector street. Speed table alternative - yes/no. - The street provides the sole access to a regional facility (i.e., fire station, post office, transfer station). Speed table alternative - yedno. The County Director of Public Works or his or her designee has determined: a. The street grade is excessive. b. The grade or alignment does not provide sufficient stopping sight distance. c. The route is an important emergency vehicle access route. The street has a daily traffic volume over 2,000 vehicles per day. Speed table alternative - yesho. Based upon the above noted factors it is reasonable to conclude that the criteria supports opposes the installation of road bumps on this street, and/or the speed table alternative is recommended for this street. The above information was verified by Santa Cruz County Department of Public Works ROAD BUMP FACTS.doc Date: 21